


Infection

by cosima_geekmonkey_niehaus



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, M/M, Multi, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-19
Updated: 2015-04-27
Packaged: 2018-02-05 09:45:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1814023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosima_geekmonkey_niehaus/pseuds/cosima_geekmonkey_niehaus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Multi-chapter fic, more chapters to come. Cophine, Felony, Sarah, Helena, Alison!</p><p>Zombie Apocalypse AU!!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Cosima was hunched over the lab bench, brow furrowed, examining two different microscope images of her cell cultures. She frowned, tossing them aside. She had expected results by now, and was beginning to lose faith in her hypothesis.

She walked over to her desk and sat down; she stared at her computer screen, unable to think of what to do next. She had been so sure these new conditions would work, and she wasn’t used to being wrong. Overcome with frustration, she shoved a pile of papers off her desk and put her head in her hands.

The door clicked open, and Cosima lifted her head up to look over her shoulder. Delphine entered the room, locking the door behind her and staring nervously out the window before turning to look at her girlfriend. Cosima was squinting back at her, confused by Delphine’s unusual behavior.

"You okay?" Cosima asked, tilting her head as she surveyed Delphine with concerned eyes.

"No. We have to get out of here Cosima," Delphine said, walking toward Cosima briskly and taking her hand. She pulled, signaling for Cosima to follow her, but Cosima didn’t budge.

"What do you mean, we have to get out of here? It’s three o’clock. I have work to do. You know, my new conditions didn’t work, I’m thinking it’s probably the sodium levels, they might be too high and -"

"Cosima, none of that matters now," Delphine cut Cosima off, a note of panic in her voice. "We have to go. Now!"

Cosima had never heard Delphine talk like this so she stood up, but her curiosity kept her feet planted. “Alright, I’ll leave if you tell me what’s going on.”

"There’s no time for this right now!" Delphine raised her voice, frustrated that Cosima’s stubbornness was delaying them. "I will tell you everything when I can, but I’m telling you, we have to leave right this second!"

Cosima surveyed Delphine for a moment, then let out a sigh of defeat. “Fine. Let’s go.”

She followed Delphine to the door. Cosima went to open it, but Delphine blocked her hand.

"Wait! We have to make sure it’s safe."

"Safe?" Cosima asked, chuckling. "What do you mean safe?"

Delphine just glared at Cosima and shook her head. She then looked out the window. Delphine took a deep breath, then slowly unlocked the door and stuck her head out just enough to see. She looked both ways, before gesturing for Cosima to follow her.

Cosima followed behind Delphine as she walked swiftly down the hallway, her head constantly looking behind them, and checking around every corner before continuing to the exit. By the time they reached the door to the parking garage, Cosima was jogging to keep up with Delphine’s hurried strides.

Delphine checked that Cosima was right behind her before they ventured into the garage. The sight would have been hilarious in any other situation, Cosima breathing heavily, dreads bouncing everywhere, glasses slipping down her nose; but there was nothing to laugh about, with their lives in danger.

Delphine picked up the pace as she weaved through the cars, Cosima struggling to keep up with her. When they reached the car, Delphine opened the passenger side door and pushed Cosima inside before running around and getting in behind the wheel. She went to put the keys in the ignition when Cosima’s hand shot out.

"Wait!" Cosima panted. "Can you tell me what’s going on now? Why are you so worried about being followed? Who could possibly be after you?"

"Cosima," Delphine pleaded. "Just wait until we are safe. It is still dangerous here! Please."

Cosima rolled her eyes. She hated not knowing everything that was going on. She felt out of control when she was missing key information, and that was a feeling she was not comfortable with.

Just as Cosima was about to protest again, there was a loud bang from where they had entered the garage. Cosima whipped her head around for a better look, and Delphine took the chance to start the car.

As Delphine backed up the car, a figure emerged out of the shadow of the doorway. Cosima could tell that it was human, but something was severely wrong with it - the head was at an odd angle, and it moved as if it couldn’t bend it’s knees.

"Delphine, what’s wrong with that guy?" Cosima asked, more curious than worried. "Should we go help him?"

Delphine switched the car into drive. “No! We definitely should not help him!”

Before Cosima could question her any further, Delphine put her foot on the gas and drove toward the garage exit. As if it had been signaled by the sound of the wheels on the asphalt, the figure charged toward the car, much faster than it’s awkward gait suggested.

Cosima let out a scream as the figure gained on the car, Delphine unable to pick up speed due to all the turns in the parking structure. With each turn, he got closer and closer, his arms outstretched, reaching for them. On the final turn, the figure banged against the trunk of the car. Cosima’s eyes widened in terror - it looked like a man, but that definitely wasn’t a man. Giant sores covered most of his visible skin and foam was coming out of his mouth; blood dripped down his chin, and his eyes were glassy and dead.

Delphine floored it as they reached the street, and the creature fell back, writhing on the floor of the garage. Cosima turned back to face front, pure terror on her face.

"What the hell was that?"

"I told you we were not safe," Delphine said, her voice cracking slightly. "I will tell you everything when we get home. I don’t want to be out in the open like this."

"Okay, okay," Cosima said, trying to calm Delphine down. "Just focus on driving. We will be safe soon. We can go to Felix’s place, it’s much closer."

Delphine was silent for a moment, thinking this over. She then nodded resolutely. “Yes. Felix’s place. Good.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix, Sarah, Helena, and Tony join Cophine to survive the zombie takeover

Felix had his face only inches from the bathroom mirror, one hand supporting himself on the sink, one hand expertly applying his eyeliner. He finished his right eye, and leaned back to examine his work. Pleased with what he saw, he smirked, and leaned in to start his left eye.

Just as he placed the pencil to his eye, someone began banging as loud as possible on his door, causing him to jump and poke his eye.

"One minute," he shouted, turning back to the mirror, set on finishing his eyeliner in case it was someone worth impressing.

The banging continued however, and unable to concentrate, he put down the pencil with a huff and went to open the door.

He was met by a distraught Delphine - her eyes wide and panicked - who pushed him aside immediately to enter the apartment. Behind her was Cosima, her eyes far away and her skin very pale. She followed Delphine inside, muttering what sounded like “holy shit” over and over again.

"What are you two doing here? Shouldn’t you be off curing cancer or something?" Felix asked, slightly thrown when they both ignored him entirely.

Cosima sat down on Felix’s couch and put her head in her hands, still muttering. Delphine was checking every corner of the loft, slightly panicked.

Felix narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the pair. “What’s wrong with you? You’re both acting a bit strange.”

"Where’s Sarah?" Delphine asked, after concluding that they were alone in the apartment.

"She took Helena food shopping," Felix said, not taking his eyes off of Cosima. "They should be back soon. But you all will have to find somewhere else to behave strangely because I have a date in an hour."

You’re not going anywhere,” Delphine said, staring down Felix as if he were a misbehaving child. “We all have to stay here!”

"Alright, seriously, what is going on?" Felix was annoyed and a little angry. "And what in the bloody hell is wrong with her?" Cosima had slumped back in the couch, her hands on her forehead, shaking her head over and over.

Before Delphine could respond, there was another knock on the door. Felix turned around and opened it; Sarah walked inside, arms full with two grocery bags, a look of exasperation on her face. She was followed by Helena, who had a face full of powdered sugar.

"Remind me never to go shopping with her again," Sarah said exasperatedly. "It’s like shopping with a bloody child."

Sarah looked up and surveyed the room. Felix was eying Delphine suspiciously, who in turn looked like a nervous wreck. Meanwhile Cosima looked like she was going to pass out; Helena had her face very close to Cosima’s, examining every inch of her blank expression, a look Sarah had never seen on Cosima before.

Helena turned away from Cosima and announced, “She is not well.”

"Alright Delphine," Felix said. "You’re up. Tell us what the hell is going on."

"Okay," Delphine cleared her throat and closed her eyes. After a moment, she opened them again and exhaled. "I guess I will start at the beginning.

"The age-associated diseases department at the research center has been working for some time now on finding a way to slow down the aging process. Of course, this is a very common avenue of research, both for the elderly who want to avoid natural deteriorating of the body, as well as for people with genetic disorders such as Progeria.

"Anyway, a group of researchers in the department teamed up with a group in the infectious diseases department to try to create a virus that could be injected into patients that would then combat the aging process. The development of this virus has been going on for a few years now, but it was still in the very early stages, nowhere near human trials.

"So I was at a meeting today with the group in the infectious diseases lab, going over a separate project, when we heard screaming coming from the tissue culture room where they were handling this virus. Apparently, one of the scientists exposed themselves to the virus accidentally. The virus was toxic, and he died almost instantly. However, a few minutes after he died, he began moving, and he got up, but he was not human anymore.

"His flesh was decaying, and he was clearly still dead, and he started attacking everyone he could reach. And everyone who he killed came back to life a few minutes later and joined in the attack. I got out of there as fast as I could and got Cosima, because it is spreading fast. I fear the whole research facility might be taken over, and it’s only a matter of time before they get out."

Delphine paused for breath and surveyed her audience. Cosima had her eyes narrowed and brow furrowed, Felix had his mouth open in disbelief, Helena looked bored, and Sarah was shaking her head.

"No I don’t understand," Sarah said. "These people are dead, and then they’re coming back to life and attacking people. You’re bloody joking. That just sounds like-"

"Zombies," Cosima interjected.

Sarah was silent, knowing that if Cosima said it, it must be possible. Cosima certainly looked like she had just seen a zombie. They all sat there in silence for a while, not sure of what to do next.

Suddenly, they were all startled out of their trance by loud banging at the door. Felix moved to go answer the door but Delphine ran across the room to stop him.

"Wait, you can’t answer that," she shouted. "It might be…it might not be human."

"I highly doubt it would have spread this quickly, and my date is on his way. Getting attacked by zombies outside of my door because I wouldn’t let him in my apartment will definitely put a damper on our relationship."

Felix pushed Delphine aside and opened the door before she could object further. The guy hurried inside, slightly out of breath, but composed himself when he saw the room full of people. He pulled out a cigarette from his jacket pocket, his hand shaking slightly as he lit it.

"Everyone, this is Tony," Felix announced as Tony relaxed up against a wall. Tony nodded and smirked, but was still visibly on edge.

"Man I just saw the weirdest shit," Tony said as he exhaled and chuckled to himself. "These guys were chasing people down the street and biting them, it was like some shit out of a horror movie. They started chasing me two blocks back, so I had to book it the rest of the way here. What the hell is going on?"

Everyone was silent, not sure how of to go about telling Tony the truth. Suddenly, Cosima stood up.

"We have to get out of here," she said as she started to pace around the room. "We have to gather up supplies and weapons and get somewhere safe. We can’t protect ourselves here. There are too many windows and we have no escape plan. Felix gather up clothes and any necessities. Sarah you can pack up food and water. Helena and Tony can look for things that can be used as weapons. Delphine and I will figure out where to go and how to get there."

Cosima stopped walking and looked at the room. No one was moving. She looked over to Delphine and gave her a look asking for her help in initiating her plan. Delphine nodded.

"Yes. Everyone this sounds like a good idea. Let’s get going!" She tried to sound confident instead of confused.

The group began moving around the room, carrying out their respective tasks. Cosima pulled Delphine aside into the corner of the room where they couldn’t be overheard.

"What are you up to Cosima?" Delphine asked. "We shouldn’t be going back out there, it’s very dangerous. We’re just going to get ourselves killed."

"No we’re not," Cosima replied, eyes gleaming with a plan. "We will get them all to a safe place, I wasn’t lying when I said it’s not safe here. Besides, this group can handle a fight, I’m not worried."

"Cosima-" Delphine began, trying to protest.

"No Delphine my plan will work. And once everyone is safe, you and I are going back to the research center."

"Wait what?" Delphine was shocked. "Cosima are you mad? Why would we go back there?"

"Because," Cosima said, a smile opening across her face. "We are going to find a cure for this."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clone club comes face-to-face with zombies

Forty minutes later, the group was done preparing and was ready to head out. Tony and Helena had fashioned some weapons out of some old easels Felix had lying around, as well as an old baseball bat and some knives from the kitchen. Everyone stood by the door, unsure of their plan, afraid of what was beyond the door.

Tony finally broke the silence. "Alright Dreads, this was your idea. What's the plan once we get out there?"

"We will head for our place," Cosima gestured toward herself and Delphine. "Just stay together, stay quiet and alert, and move quickly."

Cosima tried to give a reassuring smile, but no one was convinced. Everyone remained still, the anxiety palpable. Finally Helena, the only one who seemed unperturbed by the whole situation, moved forward.

"Let us get going," she said, her expression blank, a hint of boredom in her voice. "We want to be safe before it gets dark, yes?"

This realization snapped everyone's attention back to the task at hand, and they filed out of the loft single file behind Helena, Tony insisting on bringing up the rear. The group crept quietly down the stairs and out into the alleyway.

Everyone remained quiet as they made their way toward the main street. Without warning Helena stopped short, causing Sarah and Felix to bump into her, nearly falling to the ground.

"Make no sound!" Helena whispered tensely between clenched teeth. "There is movement in the street."

"Merde," Delphine breathed. "Cosima we shouldn't have done this. Let's go back."

Cosima looked at Delphine, rolled her eyes, and looked away. Delphine sighed, knowing there was no convincing Cosima once she had set her mind to a task.

"Maybe if we run really fast, then we can get off the street before they catch us," Felix said, trying to sound confident but with a noticeable quake breaking through.

"No we can't outrun them," Cosima replied gravely. "They're faster than they look. One of them almost ran us down in our car-"

"Wait hold on," Felix interjected. "Why aren't we just taking the car."

Sarah rolled her eyes at her brother's stupidity. "Fee you idiot, do you want to draw every bloody zombie's attention?"

"Right," muttered Felix. "Of course."

"Let's just get this show on the road, no point putting it off." Tony leaned into Felix. "It's okay Fifi, I got your back."

Tony winked and pecked Felix's cheek before turning and leading the group out onto the street. Sarah smirked at Felix as he blushed, but looked pretty smug about the kiss.

The street appeared empty as they all stood in a huddle, squinting to see in every far corner, bending around each other to peer behind abandoned cars. It was eerie, seeing the street that empty, car doors left open, purses laying forgotten on the sidewalk, all the stores empty and quiet.

"There," Helena pointed into an alley about 100 yards away, in the direction they were headed. "There is something in the darkness."

They all turned toward the alley, squinting in hopes of finding the source of the noise. Helena held her arm out to signal everyone to remain quiet and still. The noise was getting louder; whatever was in the alley was moving toward them.

Felix gasped and Delphine whimpered as a figure appeared out of the darkness. Then, Cosima broke out in a fit of giggles as out of the shadows a raccoon appeared.

"Are you bloody serious?" Sarah lowered the stake she had had at the ready, shaking her head. "All that for a fucking raccoon."

Sarah's whole body began to relax when she was suddenly pushed out of the way by Helena, who came charging toward her. Delphine screamed as Helena threw all her weight behind her knife, driving it into a zombie's chest. She wrestled it to the ground as a second zombie reached out for Felix, foaming at the mouth and scratching the air directly in front of Felix. Sarah grabbed Felix and shoved him down out of the way as Tony came at the zombie with the baseball bat.

Helena repeatedly stabbed the zombie she had tackled, covering herself with blood. Next to her, Delphine and Cosima were huddled together, Delphine crying behind Cosima as she swung wildly at a third zombie with her stake. Helena stopped stabbing, looking satisfied with her butcher job, then turned nonchalantly to Delphine and Cosima. She walked calmly over to the zombie and began slashing away.

Felix grabbed Cosima's hand, and joined the huddle, the three of them staring terrified at what was happening. Sarah was standing frozen watching Tony whack the zombie repeatedly, blood everywhere. After a few moments Helena walked over to Tony - having successfully filleted the other two zombies - and leaned in to examine his work.

"It is dead," she stated blankly. "Here." She handed him her scarf to use to clean up the blood.

Felix and Delphine helped each other up as Helena reached out and pulled Cosima to her feet. Sarah was helping brush Tony off as the rest of the group came over.

"Is everyone okay?" Cosima asked. "I'm totally sorry I got us all to let our guards down. My bad."

"It's not your fault," Sarah said, attempting to smile. "Helena seemed to enjoy herself." Helena nodded once in agreement. "You good, Tony?"

"Yeah girl I'm fine," he smiled. "I can handle myself. Those zombies are no match for Tony."

He winked, and Sarah rolled her eyes, pushing his shoulder lightly in jest. The group set off down the road again, alert and at the ready.

Tony hung back for a moment, turning his back to the group and rolling up his sleeve. His arm was covered in blood gushing out of a gash below his elbow. The zombie had managed to take a good-sized chunk out of his arm before he took it down. He glanced nervously back at the group before taking Helena's scarf and tying it above his elbow, in hopes of stemming the flow of the sickness he could already feel coursing through his veins.

He closed his eyes, shaking the horrible thoughts from his head, ignoring the way his skin around the wound was already turning grey, and he ran to catch up with the group.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clone club looks for a place to wait out the night safe from the zombies.

The group walked through town for over an hour, all very quiet and tense, eyes darting and heads whipping around at every sound. Occasionally one of them would hold their hand out, stopping everyone in their tracks, straining their ears and squinting their eyes before deciding there was nothing and continuing on.

The sun was sitting low in the sky, the blue beginning to fade into purples and pinks. Delphine looked anxiously at the sky, and then at the street around her.

"I don't think there's any possible way we can make it to our apartment before it gets dark," she whispered to the group. "The sun is already beginning to set, and it is entirely too dangerous to travel at night."

"Delphine's right," Cosima agreed. "We need to find someplace close by to stay. Like fast."

Helena stared off in the distance for a moment, before replying. "There are big houses back there. We will stay there tonight." She began walking, as if that settled the matter.

"Wait, hold on a second Missy," Felix said, a hint of panic in his voice. "There is no way we are going over there. That's the suburbs. I do not do the suburbs. I cannot stand to be in close proximity with bad architecture." Felix flashed a look of disgust in the direction of the houses before turning to Tony. "What about you. You must know someplace nearby to crash."

"Was that a dig at my grifter lifestyle I just detected Fifi?" Tony sounded tough, but there was a smile playing on his lips. Felix pursed his lips in return and Tony playfully punched his shoulder. Tony tried to hide the wince of pain from his arm, but he was sure Cosima had noticed something strange. She looked about to say something before Sarah interrupted.

"Fee let's just go to the houses, what other option do we have? I promise nothing bad will happen to you. Well aside from the possible death by zombies."

Felix rolled his eyes. "How nice of you to look out for me, Sis. I guess I could make an exception seeing as it's probably the end of the world and all."

Felix hitched his bag securely on his shoulder and led the way toward the houses. They all walked with a measured urgency, always scanning their surroundings. Thirty minutes later, they reached the gated entrance to the community, and they paused, unsure of where to go from there.

"So should we just like start knocking on people's doors hoping humans and not zombies answer, or should we form some sort of plan here?" Cosima asked. The question hung in the air as they all silently tried to figure out the best course of action.

While the group contemplated their next move, Tony sat down on the curb of the well manicured lawn and examined his injury. The open wound had a green tint, and more of the skin around the bite was grey; a foul odor was rising from the decaying flesh, and he couldn't help but gag and cover it back up. As he stood back up to join the group, he caught Cosima's suspicious eye, and he did his best to conceal the sickness and terror inside of him.

Tony took a cigarette out of his pocket, lit it, and took a long drag, doing his best to imitate nonchalance.

"So what’s the plan here people?" He asked as he exhaled.

When nobody answered Felix rolled his eyes and stepped forward. “Alright I have an idea, but I was hoping it wouldn’t have to come to this. She doesn’t take well to people popping by unannounced, let alone a bunch of raggedy weirdos in the middle of a zombie takeover.”

"Wait a minute," Sarah put her hand out to stop Felix from walking away. "You made a stink about coming here when you knew someone in here all along?"

"Well -," Felix began but Tony interrupted.

"How did a lowlife like you go about befriending someone in here?" he teased. "I thought housewives frowned upon your choice of extracurricular activities." Tony winked as he took another drag of his cigarette.

"Alright," Felix put his hands up in surrender. "If you must know I met her while I was scouting the local theater for some talent -" Cosima laughed at his choice of phrasing. Delphine hit her lightly to signify her rudeness, but she couldn’t help but laugh as well. Felix did his best to ignore them.

"So yes I met her in the theater and I was hoping to avoid this because she can be a little…" Felix struggled to find the right word. "Uptight I guess. But it seems we have no choice so let’s get this over with."

At that Felix turned on his heel with a bit of a flourish and led the way through the entrance. The group walked in silence, a slight sense of comfort easing the tension, with no signs of the undead in the rows of identical, perfectly kept houses.

Ten minutes into the development, Felix stopped, facing a house on the corner with a minivan in the driveway and a forgotten soccer ball on the front lawn. He hesitated, unsure of how to proceed.

"She might not even be here," Cosima offered. "We can just knock on the door and if no one answers we can find a way in. I’m sure there’s a window we could pry open, or worst case break into, or -"

"Cos," Sarah interrupted, her eyebrows raised nearly to her hairline. "You’re babbling."

Cosima looked at Felix and could feel the annoyance radiating off of him. She put her hands up in apology. “Sorry sorry sorry.”

The group stood there for a moment staring at the ground in silence. They were pulled out of their reverie with a start when there was a sudden knock behind them. 

Helena had gone up to the door without anyone noticing, and knocked three times. They all stared in disbelief for at least a minute before Helena turned and walked back to the group.

"She did not answer. Should I break a window now?"

"Woah woah woah, hold on there sister," Felix replied, holding on to Helena’s shoulder to keep her still. "Shall we try the back door before we go busting through people’s windows?"

Helena looked mildly disappointed, but she followed Felix nevertheless. As the reached the gate, there was a crash in the distance as a group of about ten zombies came around a corner knocking over a row of garbage cans.

"Shit, Fee, come on," Sarah hissed.

Felix inched open the gate to minimize the creaking, and ushered everyone to slip through. Once everyone else had filed in, he looked back and saw that the zombies were only a few houses down. He cursed under his breath and slipped through, carefully closing and locking the gate behind him.

When he turned around he saw everyone standing frozen in a line; Cosima and Delphine had their hands up in surrender, partially hidden behind Tony and Sarah who had their weapons raised while Helena stood to the side, her knife twitching menacingly in her hand. Felix then noticed the short woman in her pink running shoes and sweater, bangs cutting a perfect line across her forehead, pointing a gun at his friends.

"Nobody moves an inch," she whispered harshly. "I’m not afraid to use this if I have to." Despite her small stature and innocent appearance, there was something about the precise manner in which she wielded her gun and the bite in her voice like a mother lion that made everyone certain she wasn’t joking.

"Wait, don’t shoot," Felix called out softly, pushing his way to the front of the group.

The woman lowered her gun slightly as Felix came out of the shadows. “Felix?” she hissed disapprovingly. “What do you think you’re doing here?”

"We aren’t hear to hurt you or rob you, and none of us are zombies! We just need a place to stay for the night." His voice was panicked and he was waving his hands with urgency. "Please! There’s a whole group of them right out there."

She narrowed her eyes at the group of dirty and disheveled people, sighed and rolled her eyes, before finally lowering her gun.

"Fine," she snapped. "Move quickly and quietly so you don’t draw any attention here." She turned to walk back inside, then paused for a moment and looked back. "And take your shoes off outside. I don’t want you tracking mud inside I just had the carpets steamed." And she turned and marched inside.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Sarah asked, a look of disbelief on her face.

"That," sighed Felix as he led the way inside, "is Alison."


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group tries to feel comfortable in Alison's house, but are they safe here?

Felix led the way into the house and stood aside to make sure everyone was safe before carefully closing and locking the door. They all stood awkwardly in the doorway, feeling unwelcome with Alison glaring at them from the other side of the room.

Tony leaned over to whisper into Felix’s ear, “She seems like a real douche.” Felix pursed his lips, but couldn’t deny Tony’s observation and so remained silent under Alison’s stare.

Cosima made the first move, slipping out of her shoes and walking over to the sofa; she hesitated for a moment, but when Alison made no objection to her being in the room, she tucked her right leg up behind her and sat down, fidgeting until she was comfortable.

Alison’s lack of protest toward Cosima seemed to be as close to an invitation as the rest of the group was going to get. They all took their shoes off - Felix and Delphine lining their up neatly, but the other three just kicking theirs off into a sloppy pile - and made themselves as comfortable as possible under Alison’s judgmental gaze, Delphine and Sarah sitting on either side of Cosima on the couch, Tony leaning up against the wall, Helena standing in the shadows behind Sarah, and Felix going over to sit in the armchair that Alison was standing behind.

Tony put a cigarette between his lips and fumbled for his lighter in his pocket, when someone suddenly swatted the cigarette out of his mouth. He looked up to see Alison glaring at him like he was a misbehaving child. “There will be no smoking inside this house,” she said, and she bent down to pick up the cigarette and threw it in the trash.

Delphine shifted uncomfortably on the couch, the look on her face echoing the group’s thoughts: the zombies may have been the less terrifying option. Felix sensed the increasing tension, and hoping to prevent a walkout, turned to look up at Alison.

"So, Alison, how have you been holding up? Where are the kids? Are you here alone?"

Alison’s glare softened slightly, but she didn’t take her eyes away from Tony, in case he tried to sneak another cigarette. “Well obviously this is a less than ideal situation. Luckily Donnie took the kids to his parents for the week, but I was supposed to take this time alone to get my spring cleaning done and rehearse for my play. This…monster…zombie…whatever is really inconveniencing me.” She rolled her eyes, as if they weren’t at the cusp of a zombie apocalypse, but simply experiencing bad weather on the day of a family barbeque.

Sarah made eye contact with Tony and raised her eyebrows to signify the new level of crazy they were witnessing. He smirked and winked back at her, but quickly brought his face back to neutral in case Alison returned to glaring at him.

"So there’s no one else here?" Felix inquired. "Not even-"

"No," Alison quickly interjected, slapping Felix’s shoulder to quiet him. "No I’m all alone." She bent down and whispered into his ear, "I would appreciate some discretion here, but she is supposed to be on her way over. She must be running late." Felix rolled his eyes and smiled; he caught Cosima’s eye and the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile, as if she were in on the secret. Alison straightened up and looked around the room, as if she dared anyone to ask what she was keeping secret.

"I would like to eat now, please," Helena said suddenly from the shadows of the room. Alison jumped slightly, having forgotten Helena was there; she then examined Helena with a look of disgust, appalled by everything from the blood encrusted knife still in her hand to the dirt and grime along the hem of her dress.

Helena focused her stare on Alison, causing Alison to quickly snap a condescending smile on her face. Helena held eye contact with her for a minute, never blinking, before turning to look down at Sarah.

"Uh, yeah, now seems like a good time for dinner," Sarah said, sensing the hostility and looking to soothe Helena with a full stomach. "I’ve got some beans here," she started rummaging in her bag, "Cos, do you have the jell-o?" Helena perked up at the mention of her favorite food.

"I’ve got some jell-o here, Blondie," Tony said, grabbing a jell-o cup from his bag and tossing it to Helena; she caught it in one hand, and went to open it but was interrupted by Alison.

"No, no, no, now you just wait a minute here," she said as she walked into the center of the room waving her hands. "What kind of hostess would I be if I let you eat your," she scrunched up her face in disgust, "canned beans and jell-o in my den instead of fixing you a proper meal to eat at the dining room table." She continued up the stairs and out of sight before anyone could protest.

They all sat in silence for a moment, staring at one another, before they collectively burst into laughter; it was like a weight had been lifted off their shoulders, and they momentarily forgot about the world outside of that room as they reveled in Alison’s uptight craziness.

After a few minutes they all were able to calm down, and the severity of their situation crept back in, the smiles fading from their faces. Sarah shifted restlessly, Cosima took Delphine’s hand in hopes of easing the frightened look on her face, Felix’s eyes darted around the room, and Helena slurped down her jell-o despite Alison’s objections. Tony, feeling suffocated by the tension in the room, went to look for someplace he could sneak a cigarette.

He walked up the stairs, quickly past the kitchen where Alison had her back to him chopping what looked like onions and peppers at the counter, and he went up a second flight of stairs and into a hall bathroom. He placed a cigarette in his mouth, but instead of lighting it, he examined his reflection in the mirror.

The flannel shirt he was wearing was covered in mud and blood, especially around his right arm where the scarf was still tied above his wound. His t-shirt had a few rips in it from the zombie attack, one on his chest revealing a newly forming bruise extending from his neck to somewhere beneath his binder. There was unidentified grime on one of his cheeks, as well as matted throughout his hair, and his eyes looked hollow and lifeless.

"Shit, dude," he said to his reflection. "You look like crap."

"You got that right."

Tony jumped and turned to see Cosima peering around the door that he had accidentally left slightly ajar.

"Let me see it," she said, pointing to his arm, the expression on her face indicating that he hadn’t fooled her for a second. He rolled his eyes before giving in and rolling up his sleeve.

"Holy shit!" Cosima said louder than anticipated, and Tony lightly punched her shoulder and put his finger to his lips to tell her to keep it down. "Sorry, but this is a lot worse than I thought. Look over here how the blood stopped flowing and is congealing, and it seems to me like your flesh is actually decaying. It was probably a smart move using the scarf as a turnicate, but there’s no way of knowing whether or not this will spread past that. Look, I mean it’s already spread almost to your wrist, see how it’s all grey here." Tony stared blankly at her, not appreciating her enthusiasm about his impending doom. "I mean with the turnicate it’s still spreading quickly, it’s only been what, two hours since you were bit and forty percent of your arm is already infected. I wonder-"

But whatever Cosima was wondering, Tony did not find out, as they were interrupted by the loud crash of breaking glass, followed by a scream, and then a metallic clank from downstairs.

Tony flew down the stairs, Cosima hot on his heels, and they both froze in the entryway to the kitchen. Footsteps behind them indicated the rest of the group had joined them from downstairs. Delphine let out a gasp and Sarah swore.

Alison was standing over a zombie spread eagle on the kitchen floor, a frying pan held high above her head, apparently having just clubbed the zombie over the head with it. There was broken glass in the hallway, the zombie having broken through the dining room window.

Felix let out a single “ha”, snapping Alison out of her post-attack reverie. She whipped her head around to look at the group, but before she could say anything there was another crash as a second zombie barreled through the already broken window.

Alison dropped the frying pan on top on the zombie at her feet as the group behind her spread out to hide, except for Helena who remained on the landing with her knife drawn. Alison ran toward the approaching zombie, grabbed a golf club that was leaning up against the wall, and swung; the club made direct contact with the head, knocking it completely off the neck and sending it flying across the dining room.

Alison ran to look out the window and saw two more approaching zombies. She scanned the room and noticed a box of her crafting supplies on the floor from a scrapbooking class she had taken the previous day. She opened the book and assessed for a moment before she took out a paper cutter and her set of crafting scissors.

A third crash indicated the arrival of the next zombie, and Alison whipped around, a pair of scissors in each hand. Channeling the self-defense class she had once taken, she kicked the zombie in the stomach, elbowed it in the face, and easily tackled it to the ground. She then began stabbing it with both pairs of scissors while it struggled beneath her, not stopping until she was sure it could no longer move.

Without hesitation, Alison jumped up and grabbed the fourth zombie around the neck before it even attempted to get through the window. Despite her tiny frame, she managed to pull it to the ground without much struggle, and she dragged it over to the craft box. The zombie was moaning and trying to grab at her arm, but Alison simply slapped its hands away from her, put the zombie’s neck inside the paper cutter, and snapped it clean off. The head continued to emit moans as it rolled away from her, so she rummaged through her box, brought out a tube of crazy glue, and sealed its mouth shut.

Alison stood up to examine her work as the rest of the group hesitantly inched into the room from their hiding spots in the living room. Alison gave a satisfies nod and then looked up.

"Well that made quite a mess," she said, her tone completely calm despite what just happened. "I would appreciate some help tidying this up. And we need to board up this window right away. You, young man," she pointed to Tony, "can get some plywood out of my craft room downstairs. Chop chop!" She clapped her hands together and left the room to get cleaning supplies, leaving everyone in a stunned silence.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group spends the night at Alison's, and Cosima's concern for Tony increases.

Alison returned to the room moments later with a broom, dustpan, all-purpose cleaner, and paper towels. Delphine grabbed the cleaner and paper towel, and Alison handed the broom and dustpan to Felix. Alison then turned and glared at Tony, who had remained motionless despite her instructions, and said, “plywood?”

He maintained eye contact with her, but when she refused to budge, he shrugged and said “damn, girl!” He then ambled out of the room to get some plywood.

Alison turned back around, saw Felix attempting to brush broken glass into the dustpan Sarah was holding, frowned, and grabbed the broom from him, shooing them both out of the room. Sarah distinctly heard Alison say “ridiculous” under her breath before they left.

Alison managed to sweep up all the broken glass and re-clean all the blood-spatters that Delphine had already successfully wiped up before Tony returned with the plywood and a power drill. Alison worked the drill while Tony held the plywood in place, and then they turned to the lifeless zombies still in the room. Cosima had been examining the bodies - poking and prodding, examining the skin and the open wounds - but she moved aside as Tony and Alison worked together to move the zombies to the front door for eventual disposal. Cosima took note of the labored effort Tony was putting into the work, the sweat on his brow, the way his arm shook every time he exerted more effort.

Cosima and Delphine went into the kitchen to find Sarah sitting on the counter eating potato chips, Felix leaning next to her fiddling with the vegetables Alison had been chopping earlier, and Helena standing in front of the open fridge shoving handfuls of food into her mouth.

"Well, that was completely insane," Cosima said as she walked over and shoved her hand into Sarah’s bag of potato chips. "I mean she was pretty intimidating with the gun earlier, but who knew she could take on four zombies without breaking a sweat." Cosima raised her eyebrows, impressed with Alison, as she chewed the potato chips.

"I must say, I’m slightly afraid of her," Delphine said, the nerves still obvious in the way her voice quivered.

Cosima laughed into her hand, and then rubbed Delphine’s back softly. “It’s okay, if she goes crazy again, I’ll protect you.” Delphine smiled lovingly at Cosima, as Sarah and Felix both rolled their eyes playfully. Cosima tilted her head at them, daring them to say something sarcastic, but they both just raised their eyebrows and continued eating.

"She does not frighten me," Helena said from inside the fridge, a half-eaten chicken wing in one hand and a slice of cheese in the other. "I like the way she works." Helena turned to look at the group, who just stared blankly back at her, then returned to her food.

Tony sauntered into the room, sidling up to Felix, taking a carrot out of Felix’s hand and popping it in his mouth. “Thanks, Fifi,” he said smiling.

Felix pursed his lips, but couldn’t prevent a smile from breaking through. “You look like you could use some relaxing after all your heavy lifting.” Felix raised his eyebrows playfully.

"Why don’t you draw me a bath?" Tony said, poking his tongue out of the side of his mouth.

Felix smiled sweetly at Tony, but the smile faded quickly as Alison entered the room, a murderous look on her face.

"What are you doing in here?" she shouted, grabbing the potato chip bag out of Sarah’s hand and swatting Felix away from the vegetables. "You are all ruining the nutritious yet flavorful meal I was preparing for you all. That is not a nice way to treat someone who is allowing you to be a guest in their home." She shooed them all out of the kitchen with her hand. "Go and get the master bedroom prepared for the night. We will all have to sleep together to ensure our safety." She raised her eyebrows, daring anyone to challenge her.

The group quickly shuffled out of the kitchen and upstairs - Helena taking the rest of the tupperware of fried chicken with her - while Alison resumed her meal preparations.

Delphine found the linen closet, grabbed a handful of quilts and blankets, and led the way into the master bedroom. She began making up beds with Cosima and Sarah, while Helena picked apart the chicken, and Felix and Tony huddled in the corner, blatantly flirting - their eye contact was intense, they kept brushing their hands together, and there was a twinkle in their eyes. Cosima kept watch on Tony the whole time she fiddled with the blankets, taking note of the way he limited his arm movements and the pale look his skin was starting to take on. He leaned in to kiss Felix and, despite the heat of the moment, couldn’t help but scratch at his forearm a bit. Felix didn’t seem to notice, but Cosima was worried.

When the two broke apart, Cosima straightened up and called across the room, “hey Tony, could you give me a hand with gathering up some pillows from the other bedrooms? Felix can help Delphine and Sarah finish up with the blankets.” She stared him down, making sure he knew what her intentions really were.

"Sure thing, Dreads," he said, his mouth tense and his teeth barred, not looking forward to continuing their earlier conversation. Nevertheless, he followed her out of the room and down the hall to a child’s bedroom.

"Let me see it again," Cosima said before he had even closed the door, pointing to his arm. He pulled up his sleeve to reveal his arm; the grey, decaying flesh had starting spreading to the back of his hand and up all the way to the turnicate around his upper arm. "Shit, man, this is bad."

"I’ll be fine," Tony replied, shrugging it off calmly.

"Dude, I don’t know about that," Cosima replied, bringing his arm up to her face so she could examine it closely. "It’s spreading alarmingly fast for such a small bite, and it might be in your bloodstream by now. Once the virus spreads to your heart and brain, I’m assuming you will turn into a zombie. Now the question is how can we stop this from happening. If I could take a look at your cells under a microscope that would be a start, but I’d really need to examine the effects of the virus on your gene expression to know for sure what is going on. My guess is the virus is causing extremely rapid aging of the cells, until they die, and the worse you are exposed the faster it happens. But I wonder why they become zombies instead of just dying, that’s pretty interesting, maybe it’s-"

"Whoa there, Bill Nye," Tony interrupted, "I don’t need to be involved in your whole scientific process here."

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Cosima said, waving her hands apologetically. "It totally sucks what’s happening, I just want to help. I don’t want this to end up the way I fear it will, but I don’t know what to do. I’m really sorry, Tony." She looked at him with genuine sorrow. "If I could get your blood and cell samples, and get back to the research center, then maybe there’s a chance."

"You want to go back to zombie headquarters?" Tony chuckled. "You’re crazy, girl."

Cosima pursed her lips slightly, not keen on her ideas being considered crazy. Tony looked down and went into his pant pocket, pulling out a small case.

"Will this help?" he asked, opening the case to reveal two bottles of testosterone - one was almost empty - and a few needles. "This bottle is almost empty so you can store the samples in it."

Cosima broke out into a wide smile. “Are you sure about this? Will you have enough left for what you need?”

"Don’t worry about it Dreads," Tony smiled back. "Anything to help you save the world. Besides, this bottle and the two other needles should be enough for a while. And it won’t matter anyway if you can’t save me." He laughed, and began preparing the needle and syringe.

Cosima helped place the needle in the correct place, and then Tony drew a sample of his own blood, placing it into the empty bottle. Cosima went into the hall bathroom and came back with a cotton swab, and took samples from the inside of Tony’s cheeks, and then placed the swab into a plastic bag she had found.

"Alright I’ll hold onto these to make sure they don’t get lost," Cosima said. Tony turned to leave the room. "One more thing, Tony. When are you going to tell Felix?"

Tony stopped, but didn’t turn around. He remained silent for a moment, then shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.” He then walked out of the room.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise guest shows up at Alison's house with a warning.

When Alison had finished making dinner, she brought it upstairs, and the group enjoyed their food in near silence, the occasional compliments to the chef thrown in, to which Alison smiled proudly.

Soon after eating, the exhaustion from the day sunk in, and they began drifting off. Cosima and Delphine snuggled up into a ball on a quilt together and were asleep almost instantly. Alison allowed Sarah to share the bed with her; Sarah begrudgingly agreed and curled up on the edge of the bed, but began to sprawl out as she fell asleep, while Alison remained motionless on her side, complete with sleep mask and ear plugs. Tony and Felix remained up, whispering to each other before disappearing into the bathroom together. Helena stood guard at the door, knife in hand, eyes alert despite resting her head in her right hand.

The night passed on uneventfully; Felix and Tony emerged from the bathroom after a half hour and snuggled together, Tony wrapped around Felix, falling asleep quickly. After a few hours, Sarah woke up, bleary-eyed and hair a mess, and took over as lookout so Helena could rest. Helena offered Sarah her knife, but when she refused, Helena brought it into bed with her and slipped it under the pillow, her hand tight around the handle as she drifted off. Alison remained motionless the whole time, while the rest of the group occasionally shifted and sighed.

As the sun began to come up, Sarah got up to look out the windows. She craned her neck to check as much of the area as possible, and as far as she could tell, the coast was clear. Looking around at the room, she was torn between waking everyone up while they all looked peaceful and wanting to get a head start while the area was safe.

Suddenly, there was a banging noise from downstairs, loud enough to wake everyone up. Delphine screamed, and Cosima quickly shifted herself in front of her, squinting without her glasses, looking confused and dazed. Alison had bolted up in bed, immediately alert, her eyes wide with fright. Tony had grabbed the baseball bat next to him, holding it up in front of himself as Felix cowered behind him. Helena was out of bed and at the door in an instant, knife in hand, ready for the attack.

"I will go take care of them," Helena said, pushing at Sarah, who was blocking the door. "I can eliminate the problem."

Sarah was confident in her sister’s skills, but she was not about to let her walk into a group of zombies by herself.

"Helena, wait," Sarah said. "We’re not going to fight them if we don’t have to, yeah? We’ll just get out before they know we’re here."

Helena stared at her sister, not willing to give up the opportunity to fillet more zombies. There was another bang, and Cosima tilted her head slightly, picking up on the noise now that she was more awake.

"It sounds like someone is knocking," she whispered. "The zombies kind of just bash into things, but that sounded like a purposeful knock."

Alison gasped and leaped out of bed. She made for the door, but Sarah stood her ground.

"Out of my way," Alison snapped, staring at Sarah with fire in her eyes. "That’s probably Beth! I need to let her in."

"How do we know it’s really her?" Felix asked from the floor. "I mean yeah it could be Beth if geek monkey over there is right, but it could also be a particularly polite zombie."

Cosima scoffed and went to interject, but Delphine stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder. “I agree with Felix,” Delphine said, looking at Cosima apologetically. “We can’t know for sure if that’s Beth or not, and I don’t think we should risk it. We have been careless already, it’s lucky no one has gotten hurt yet. We need to be smart and get out while we can.”

Tony shifted uncomfortably on his blanket, making brief eye contact with Cosima at Delphine’s comment. No one else noticed, however, as all eyes were on Alison.

She stood still for a moment, maintaining her severe stare with Sarah; then, without warning, she pushed Sarah aside, swung open the door, and bolted out. Sarah threw all caution to the wind and chased after her, quickly followed by the rest of the group, collectively forgetting their own warnings.

Alison flew down the stairs and ran to the front door; halfway to the door there was another knock, this time from the back door downstairs, and Alison quickly changed course and bolted out of Sarah’s reach, down the second flight of stairs, and to the door. She pushed aside the curtain of the window by the door and let out a sigh of relief.

"Beth!" Alison smiled at the face looking back at her. Beth look exhausted and disheveled. She looked as if she was normally very put together, with her expensive suit and neat haircut, but she had smudges of dirt and blood on her face and clothes, and there was fear in her eyes. Alison went to open the door, but she was pushed aside by Sarah.

"What in the world!" Alison cried out as she stumbled backward into the wall. "It’s just Beth, like I told you. Now let her in right this instance!"

"No," Sarah said, staring fiercely at Alison. "We need to check that it’s safe, yeah? We don’t want to be letting in more bloody zombies."

Alison glared at Sarah as if she might kill her right there; but then she looked around at the rest of the group huddled behind Sarah, and realized she was completely outnumbered on this. She let out a disgruntled huff, and then opened the window a crack so she could talk to Beth.

"Ali, hurry, let me in," Beth whispered anxiously, with no introduction.

"They won’t let me in without checking that you are not a zombie, and that you have no zombies with you." Alison’s tone conveyed just how unreasonable she thought this whole thing was.

"What the -," Beth began, clearly irritated. "Ali, I’m fine. Honestly. Please just let me the hell in there!"

Alison glared back at the group, and then at Sarah, who was still blocking the door. Sarah looked determined to hold her ground, but Alison saw her beginning to reconsider in the way her eyes had softened. Taking this opportunity, Alison pushed Sarah, who allowed herself to be pushed, and opened the door. Beth ran inside quickly, and Alison closed and locked the door behind her.

"Are you alright?" Alison asked concernedly, looking over Beth, checking that she wasn’t hurt anywhere. Alison’s entire demeanor changed around Beth, becoming soft and loving, and she looked at Beth with a mixture of admiration and warmth.

"Yeah I’m fine," Beth said, smiling at sweetly at Alison. "I can take care of myself." She gestured to her pocket, where the handle of a gun was just visible. She then turned to the group. "Who the hell are you guys?"

"This is my friend Felix that I told you about," Alison said, gesturing to Felix as he gave a tight smile and a small wave, "and these are his friend," she waved at the rest of the group dismissively. Sarah let out a grunt of disapproval and Cosima rolled her eyes, but Alison ignored them.

Beth smiled politely at the group, before turning to Alison and lowering her voice. “Could I speak to you, um, without the audience, maybe?”

Alison nodded, saying “yes, yes, of course,” as she grabbed Beth’s hand and led her to the craft room. She turned to look back at everyone else and said, “you guys can all go get some breakfast ready,” as she pointed in the direction of the kitchen. She then closed the door behind her and turned to Beth.

As Alison turned around, Beth launched herself at her, wrapping her arms tightly around Alison’s back and pressing their lips together firmly and passionately. When they parted, Beth brushed her hand softly along Alison’s cheekbone.

"I was so worried about you, Ali," Beth said, a slight tremble in her voice. "I was at the station when we started getting calls, and I rushed over here as quickly as possible, but I kept having to change course or hide out, and I was just so scared that-"

Beth broke off, staring down at her feet, unable to bring herself to say what she had been afraid of. Alison blushed, slightly embarrassed by Beth’s concern for her. She smiled softly, and brought her hand to Beth’s chin, lifting her head up so Beth could look into her eyes.

"You don’t have to worry about me," Alison said, rubbing her finger on Beth’s chin. "There is a nice-sized pile of dismembered zombie corpses in the foyer that proves that." Alison beamed proudly as Beth stared at her in bewilderment.

They stared at each other for another moment before Alison leaned in and kissed Beth softly. Beth brought her hands up to Alison’s cheeks, holding on tight, as if she had to make sure Alison was really there. After a moment, however, she abruptly pulled away, and stared at Alison, a somber expression on her face.

"We have to get out of here as quickly as possible," Beth said, the fear and panic back in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Alison asked, bringing her hand up to her cheek nervously, searching Beth’s face for answers.

"There was a whole group of them, the zombies, headed into the development when I got here. I snuck in through an opening in the shrubs lining the gatehouse, so I don’t think they followed me to the house, but it’s only a matter of time before they get here. We need to get out while we can!"

Alison was nodding, taking in everything Beth was saying, attempting to form a plan in her head. But before she could respond, there was a knock on the door as Felix pushed open the door.

"I hope I’m not interrupting anything steamy, " he said with a wink, "but the science geeks upstairs are talking about getting out of here soon, and I thought I’d check in with you ‘not lovebirds’ before they left without you."

Alison blushed and began sputtering objections, but Beth cut in. “I was just telling Ali we need to leave now. There are hundreds of them on there way here, and I’d like to put as much space between us and them as possible. I’m going to wash up real quick, I’ll meet you guys upstairs.”

Beth squeezed Alison’s shoulder gently before she slipped past Felix and up the stairs. Alison was left staring at Felix, who was looking at her with his lips pursed and an eyebrow raised. When Alison’s embarrassment didn’t go away, he put his hand on her shoulder and said, “come on Ali, let’s get your game face on.” She swiped his hand away, glaring at him for using Beth’s nickname, and huffed past him and up the stairs angrily.

After she returned from the bathroom, Beth debriefed the group on what she had seen, and they were all packed, armed, and ready to go in ten minutes. They planned to head back the way Beth came in, under the cover of the shrubs, and then head east, to Cosima and Delphine’s apartment, Cosima having not yet shared her ultimate plan of heading back to the research center.

They all gathered by the doorway, Beth in front, ready to lead the way, followed by Alison, Sarah, Helena, Cosima, Delphine, Felix, and Tony bringing up the rear, ready with his baseball bat. Beth turned and looked at the group, all with various levels of determination and fear on their faces.

"You guys ready?" She asked, the panic gone from her eyes, her gun ready in her hand. No one answered, and she took the silence as an okay to go ahead. She turned around and opened the door.

The front lawn was empty, and the entire street appeared silent and still. Beth stepped slowly onto the front steps, her gun raised, scanning the area. After a moment, when the coast was clear, she turned and gestured for everyone to follow. They all cautiously began their walk down the front lawn, slightly crouched, weapons at the ready.

They crossed the lawn and all huddled behind a car parked on the street. Beth stuck her head out again, checking for zombies, and again gave the all clear.

Beth stepped around the car, and was hit to the ground. She turned and fired her gun without thinking at the figure leering over her. The zombie groaned, but continued reaching for her. Alison’s screamed in the distance as another zombie descended on Beth. She kicked the first zombie between the legs, rolled over to her stomach, and shot at the incoming zombie, hitting it in the calf.

She scrambled to her feet as the zombie fell to the ground, it’s leg crumbling beneath it. Beth shot again, this time hitting the zombie in the chest; it sputtered and thrashed, before falling to the ground, motionless.

Beth wiped the back of her hand across her forehead. “Well that was close,” she said. She looked up and smiled at Alison; Alison’s face was frozen in horror, and Beth’s smile faltered slightly.

Before she could turn back around, a third zombie grabbed Beth around the neck from behind. Beth struggled to break free, punching at anything she could reach. She whacked the zombie on the head with her gun, and it let out a moan before it sank it’s teeth deep into Beth’s shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain as she sank to the ground.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group tries to help out Beth

"BETH!" Alison screamed, pushing aside Sarah and Helena. She ran out to Beth’s side, picked up Beth’s gun, and shot the zombie directly in the face. It fell with a thud to the ground next to Beth, twitching slightly before going limp.

Alison knelt down next to Beth, who was moaning in pain, her hand on her shoulder trying to slow the bleeding. Alison put her hand on Beth's shoulder, her eyes frantically surveying the injury, tears welling in her eyes.

"Ali," Beth breathed, wincing with pain.

"Shhh, don't talk," Alison said, rubbing her hand up and down Beth's uninjured arm soothingly, trying her best not to cry.

The rest of the group gathered around the them, and Alison looked up at Felix, a pleading look in her eyes. He looked back at her, terrified and unsure of what to do. Felix looked at the group for help, and his eyes landed on Delphine. She nodded quickly.

"Felix hand me something to help soak up the blood," she said, stepping forward and reaching out her hand. Felix scrambled through his bag and pulled out a t-shirt; Delphine placed the shirt on Beth's wound, and she let out a cry of pain through gritted teeth. Delphine's face softened. "It's okay, we are going to help." Delphine turned to Tony and said urgently, "come help me carry her inside. We have to move fast."

Tony moved to Beth's side, with Delphine opposite him. They both put their hands underneath Beth and began lifting her. Beth let out moans of pain as they rushed her back inside Alison's house, Cosima leading the way to the living room couch while Felix helped Alison inside, followed by Sarah and Helena.

As Delphine and Tony placed Beth on the couch, she let out an agonizing scream, and blood spurted out from beneath the t-shirt.

"Shit, shit, shit," Cosima said, replacing Tony at Beth's side, pulling up the t-shirt and examining Beth's wound. "Wow, okay, this is way worse than yo-" Cosima cut herself off as she made eye contact with Tony, almost revealing his secret, "than I thought it would be. I mean, look the bite tore all the way to the bone, and the skin is already decaying across her whole chest and upper arm. Delphine?" Cosima looked up.

"Yes, of course," Delphine said, and she disappeared into the other room. Cosima kept examining Beth for a few minutes while she waited. Delphine returned with some towels, rubbing alcohol, and some gauze bandages that Alison happened to have. She handed the supplies to Cosima and said softly, "how does it look?"

Cosima looked at Delphine, but remained silent; Delphine bit her lip nervously. Beth's eyes rolled back in her head, but she picked up on the look between them.

"It's bad isn't it?" Beth stated more than asked. Cosima swallowed audibly and Delphine opened her mouth but said nothing. They both didn't know how to put into words how bad it was. In just the few minutes Delphine had been gone, Beth's whole arm and most of her neck had turned a sickly grey. Beth took a shallow breath and attempted to sit up slightly.

"Don't move," Delphine said, putting her hand on Beth's uninjured shoulder. Cosima dabbed at the wound with the towel; it had stopped bleeding, but only because the opening was beginning to congeal. Cosima tried cleaning up the area with the rubbing alcohol, but it didn't help - Beth didn't even budge when Cosima poured it on the wound, which only made Cosima more concerned.

"You can't help me, can you?" Beth asked, staring directly at Cosima. "Tell me the truth."

Cosima's bottom lip trembled. "No," she squeaked out, biting her lip and fighting back tears. She looked away and made brief eye contact with Tony, who was pale and solemn.

"I need to talk to Ali," Beth said through gritted teeth, "alone." Delphine and Cosima both nodded, and the group all turned to go; as they filed out, Beth grabbed Tony's arm before and motioned for him to come closer. "Don't let me turn," Beth whispered, so only he could hear. "I want to die as Beth, as Elizabeth Childs, not as a monster." Tony looked at Beth, what little color remained draining out of his face. He nodded stoically, placed his hand on Beth's, and then left the room.

Alison walked up next to Beth from the corner of the room where she had been crying into Felix's shoulder. Tears were falling down her face in a steady stream, and her mouth was tight in her attempt to hold in her sobs.

"Ali," Beth said, moving her good hand up and wiping away tears from Alison's cheek. Alison took Beth's hand in hers, and held it to her face, breathing in Beth's soft skin for what she knew would be the last time. "I'm sorry."

Alison closed her eyes for a moment, and then looked back at Beth. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Someone should have had your back out there. I should have..." Alison trailed off, her lip trembling violently.

"No," Beth said, louder than she should've, causing her to sink back in pain. When she spoke again, it was almost a whisper. "No, I'm glad you are safe. I couldn't handle it if you had gotten bit too. You have to promise me you will survive, Ali."

Alison shook her head. "I can't do this without you, Beth."

"You have to Ali," she squeezed her hand. "You have a family, you need to be strong, and brave, and take care of them." Alison sobbed into Beth's hand. "Promise me, Ali, that you'll survive. That you will make it through this and you will live a long and happy life. For me."

Alison continued to sob, unable to speak. Beth moved her hand out of Alison's and brushed Alison's bangs softly. "I love you, Ali. More than you'll ever know."

"I love you, too," Alison managed to get out between sobs.

Then, Beth started to shake violently, twisting and writing on the couch. Her skin was almost all grey, except for her face and her hand. She coughed violently and foam came out of her mouth.

"BETH!" Alison screamed. "HELP!"

Tony, Helena, and Felix all rushed into the room. Tony stopped dead when he saw Beth, still sputtering and moaning. His eyes were wide with shock. Helena went over to Beth's side and stared at her intensely.

"Oh my god," Felix said, putting his hand to his mouth and turning away.

"She is almost zombie," Helena said, her face inches from Beth's.

"Come on, Alison," Felix said, grabbing Alison's shoulders and starting to steer her out of the room. "You don't want to be here for this."

"Ali," Beth croaked, her eyes unfocused, her limbs twitching.

"I promise, Beth!" Alison said over Felix's shoulder as he tried to get her out of there in time. "I love you!"

Felix managed to get Alison out and shut the door behind him. Tony looked at Helena and then looked at Beth.

"She asked me to kill her before she turns," Tony said. "She doesn't have much longer."

Helena turned and stared at Tony for a minute, taking in the fear on his face. She grabbed the gun out of Beth's coat pocket and stood up. "I will do it. You can go."

Tony looked at Beth again before taking a deep breath. "I'll stay."

Out in the hall, the rest of the group was gathering their supplies.

"Let's get out of here before they do it," Felix said quietly to Sarah, raising his eyebrow in Alison's direction.

"Right, yeah," she said, ushering Cosima and Delphine toward the door, "let's go guys."

They reached the front door when they all jumped at the sound of a gunshot. Alison let out an anguished cry and sank to the ground. Felix and Cosima bent down to console her, fighting back their own tears. They were all quiet for a moment, staring into the distance; they didn't notice Tony and Helena rejoin them until Helena spoke up.

"We must get out of here," she said, snapping everyone back to reality. "I heard them in the backyard."

"Right," Cosima said, wiping away a tear. "Alright Alison we have to go, come on. Sarah and I will help you," she said, raising her eyebrows at Sarah to indicate that she should help get Alison off the ground.

"What?" Sarah said, before collecting herself. "Right. Let's go, yeah?" She bent down and put Alison's arm over her shoulder, and together with Cosima they lifted her up and began walking. "Where are we even going?" she asked Cosima.

"To the research institute," Cosima said. "We can't waste anymore time."

Sarah shrugged, not fully understanding what Cosima meant, but picked up the pace anyway. The rest of the group followed, all walking as quickly and quietly as possible.

As Felix went to follow out the door, Tony pulled him back, waiting for everyone else to pass and leaving a sizable gap between them.

"What are you doing, Tony?" Felix asked, still visibly upset and shaken. "We need to get out of here."

"I know Felix," Tony said, and Felix furrowed his brow at the use of his full name. "I have something to tell you though."

"We have time for that later," Felix said, trying to move to catch up with the group, but Tony had a firm grasp on his arm. "Come on, we have to go."

"No, we don't have time anymore," Tony said, and he pushed up his sleeve, revealing his bite. "I think I'm out of time."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix is met with a devastating realization, and the group sets on the path of a new plan.

Felix's jaw dropped, his eyes flicking between Tony and the wound on his arm. "You're...you're joking," he whispered, almost pleading with Tony for it to be a joke. Felix brought his hand up and rubbed it along Tony's arm below the wound, as if he needed to take it in with all of his senses before he could believe it.

"I wish I was," Tony said, lowering his arm and running his hand through his hair, "but I'm in some deep shit."

Felix looked around, unable to take in what Tony was telling him. "When did this happen?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly.

"Back when we first got jumped by the zombies," Tony said as he waved his good hand dismissively, trying to ease the severity of the situation. "I was taking one of them down, and it just managed to get a good bite in before I could whack him. Just bad timing I guess," he shrugged, but his face was still etched with worry.

Felix put his hand to his forehead, trying his best to come to grips with the situation. His mind was reeling with a million thoughts - how could he have prevented this, why did it take Tony so long to tell him, how long does Tony have left, is there anything he can do to save Tony - but he was suddenly interrupted by Sarah.

"Oi, guys let's get a move on, yeah?" she shouted, waving the arm that wasn't supporting Alison.

"Give us a bloody minute!" Felix shouted, anger bursting out of him as he became overwhelmed with the whole situation.

Tony put his hand on Felix's shoulder, hoping to calm him down, and said softly, "it'll be okay Fee, don't worry."

"How can it be okay?" Felix asked, tears welling up in his eyes. "You've been bitten by a zombie, and you saw what happened to Beth."

A single tear leaked out of Felix's eye and rolled slowly down his cheek. Tony brushed it off his chin with his thumb, then leaned up and kissed Felix softly on the lips. He lingered for a moment, before pulling back and looking deep into Felix's eyes.

"I can handle it," Tony said, and he gave Felix a reassuring smile. Felix couldn't help but return the smile, but his eyes were still filled with fear and worry. Tony picked up on this and continued, "besides, I may not be completely screwed. Geek Monkey over there has some plan to make a cure or something." Tony chuckled, but stopped quickly when he saw the anger on Felix's face.

"You talked to Cosima about this?" Felix said, his tone indicating his feelings of betrayal. "Why didn't you come to me first?"

Tony ran his hand through his hair again. "I didn't go to her, she figured it out herself, you know how she is," Tony chuckled once but it fell flat. He took a deep breath and continued, his eyes pleading with Felix for forgiveness, "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to be worried. I thought it was something I could ignore, you know. But then, after seeing Beth, I realized it was better to tell you than to suddenly change in front of you with no warning."

"Well I'm glad you finally told me," Felix said, "but you didn't really change anything, because I was already worried about you possibly getting bit, so now I'm just worried about something new." Felix hesitated for a moment, looking down at his hands before looking back at Tony. "I'll always worry about you Tony, because I care about you."

Tony struggled to keep his emotions in check, wanting to remain strong and in control. "I care about you too, Fifi," he said with a grin, and Felix couldn't help but return it. They stood there for a few minutes, sharing the moment between them, before the shouts of the others broke through and called them back to reality.

"We should catch up," Felix said, and Tony nodded, grabbing Felix's hand in his and leading him off Alison's front steps and across the street to join the others.

Cosima, Sarah, and Alison were huddled on the ground, while Delphine and Helena stood around them keeping an eye out for zombies. Alison was still sobbing about Beth, and Cosima was doing her best to calm her down while Sarah rubbed her back. Felix and Tony caught up and stood next to Delphine, assessing the situation. Everyone was shaken up and the anxiety was palpable.

"Any improvement?" Tony asked Delphine, but she shook her head, biting her lip in concern.

"I am worried she will not be able to go on," Delphine whispered to them. "And that could put us all in danger."

"Don't worry, I've got this," Tony said, and he walked over, replacing Cosima beside Alison. Cosima stood up and walked over to Delphine and Felix, the same fears Delphine had echoed in her face. Before she could say anything, however, Felix grabbed her arm.

"Can I speak to you for a moment alone?" he asked, glaring at her intensely.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's uh," she looked around for a place to go, "let's go over by that car. We should be safe there." She shrugged at Delphine before following Felix over to the car.

"So you have a plan?" Felix said, his lips pursed and eyebrows raised, wasting no time getting to the point.

Cosima wasn't as quick to pick up on what Felix meant. "A plan for what?" Cosima asked, her eyes shifting as she tried to catch up.

"A plan for curing Tony!" Felix hissed impatiently. "What else would I be bloody talking about?"

"Oh he finally told you, good." Cosima said, but her relief was short-lived. Anger flashed in Felix's eyes at Cosima's casual response, and she quickly focused on the task at hand. "Yeah I have a plan. Or at least the beginnings of a plan. But I need to get to the lab to examine the samples I got from Tony. I need to see exactly what's going on in the cells before I can figure out how to possible treat it. So yeah, the plan right now is to get to the research institute as quickly as possible."

Felix was quiet for a moment, taking in what Cosima said and allowing his anger to subside. "Well alright then," Felix said, a look of determination on his face, "let's get to the research institute."

Cosima nodded and they both returned to the group. When they arrived, Tony had managed to stop Alison's crying and get her back on her feet. She was brushing dirt off of her pants as the rest of the group looked ready to go.

"Alright, should we keep going?" Cosima asked, and she was met with determined looks and a few nods. "Alright if we pretty much stick in this direction we should get to the institute in an hour or so. Let's try to move as quickly as possible, but stay quiet and together."

She gave a weak smile to the group before turning to go. As she began to head out, Sarah stepped forward, putting her hand on Cosima's shoulder.

"I got this," Sarah said with a reassuring smile, and Cosima was overcome with gratitude, feeling more comfortable with someone strong in the lead. Sarah then stepped forward, leading the way down the road. Helena followed, her knife out at the ready. Delphine took Cosima's hand and led her forward, while Tony, Alison, and Felix brought up the rear.

They continued in this manner for about twenty minutes, silent and alert, moving at a brisk walk. They reached the highway, which they would have to follow for the rest of the way to the institute. Sarah made to lead to way down the highway, but was interrupted by Alison.

"Can we take a break for a minute?" she asked, squinting at the sun. "I need a moment to rest, I'm not feeling so well, and I'm sure we could all benefit from it."

Cosima made to protest, but Tony stepped in. "Yeah I could use a rest, maybe take a leak," he put his hand on Cosima's arm as he looked up at the sky. "We have plenty of daylight left, Dreads. We won't take too long, just a quick rest and a snack, and then we'll be on our way."

"I would like a snack," Helena said, turning to Sarah who had one of the backpacks of food.

Sarah rolled her eyes and smirked at her sister. "Yeah I guess we could stop for a bit. Let Meathead get her sugar fix." She chuckled as Helena glared at her, but Helena's face softened as Sarah pulled out a packet of cookies from her bag. Helena grabbed the cookies, sat down, and began eating without another word.

Tony sprawled out beside Helena and gestured for Felix to sit next to him. Felix rolled his eyes, but smiled, and sat down; Tony put his arm around Felix as Helena held out her bag of cookies to him. Tony smiled and took a cookie, nodding his head in gratitude as Helena smiled.

For a moment, as they were all relaxing together and munching on cookies, they were able to forget that they were in the middle of a zombie takeover. They all could feel free for a moment, enjoying each other's company, laughing and joking and breathing easy for the first time in over a day. There was a slight breeze as they sat there, creating a sense of calm as they soaked in the sun, while puffy clouds floated playfully across the rich, blue sky.

Finally, after five blissful minutes, Cosima looked around, took a deep, sorrowful breath, and stood up. "Well, should we get moving?"

The rest of the group remained silent for a moment, not wanting to give up their relaxation. It was difficult to bring themselves back to reality after such a break, like leaving an oasis in the middle of an endless desert trek, not knowing when the next reprieve would come. The physical and emotional exhaustion of the past twenty-four hours was weighing heavy on all of them, and continuing on would only bring more pain and suffering.

Eventually, they all stood up, gathering together their stuff, ready to continue toward the institute. A heaviness set in within the group, and they began to slowly head toward their destination.

After a few minutes of trudging down the road, Cosima turned around to face the group, hoping to lift their spirits - but that idea was wiped from her mind as she looked past the group, and down the road. She squinted slightly, to see past the waves of heat coming off the asphalt, distorting her vision; through the waves, however, there was no mistaking the shuffling and jerking movements that had become a familiar threat.

"Shit!" Cosima said, pointing behind everyone. "Shit, shit, shit!"

The rest turned around; Delphine and Alison gasped, Sarah cursed, and Tony shoved Felix behind him for safety. Half a mile away, there was what appeared to be a wall of zombies headed right in their direction.

Cosima brought her hand, which was shaking slightly, to her forehead, the fear of the group palpable, her eyes wide, her voice meak.

"Shit."


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group is faced with a massive group of zombies, and they must find a way to escape.

"What the bloody hell are we supposed to do now?" Sarah whispered, panic in her voice as she scanned the group for any sign of a plan. Instead, she was met with silence and pale faces, their impending doom inched closer and closer by the second. "Cos!"

Cosima looked at Sarah helplessly. “I don’t have a plan. How could I plan for this?”

"Well make something up!" Sarah hissed back, deciding any form of a plan would be better than standing still and letting the hoard of zombies descend upon them.

Delphine saw the panic in Cosima’s eyes as she racked her brain for an idea. “Maybe we should get of the main road,” she suggested, putting her hand on Cosima’s shoulder. “We can hide inside a building and wait until it is safe. Perhaps find a better route to the institute. What do you think Cosima?”

Cosima stared at Delphine silently, her forehead wrinkled in thought. “I don’t know,” she hesitated. “I mean, yes I agree that we should get off the road, but these guys move fast when they want to. Remember the parking garage,” she looked at Delphine, who nodded grimly. “Yeah, so if we start moving, and they notice us, we are totally fucked. We either need some sort of distraction or we need to hijack a car. Maybe both.”

"What sort of distraction are we talking about?" Felix asked, eying the wall of zombies as it slowly moved closer.

"I will distract," Helena said, rotating her knife in her hand as if she were already filleting a zombie’s face. "I will break and kill and destroy."

"Yeah maybe the first ten or so, Meathead," Sarah said, grabbing Helena’s arm and lowering it, "but there’s too many even for you. No way you could survive on your own." Sarah gulped nervously, the thought of one of them being taken down by a swarm of zombies making her throat dry and her eyes sting.

"Yeah Sarah’s right," Cosima said, nodding her head solemnly. "Any of us as a distraction would just be a suicide mission. No we need something else, something safer."

"Well if it’s a getaway car you want, I got ya covered," Tony said, a sly grin on his face as he cracked his neck. "I can hot-wire a car in under three minutes." Felix looked at Tony impressed, and Tony winked at him.

"Are you going to be okay doing that with your arm and everything?" Cosima asked nervously.

"No problem here, Dreads," and he slid his arm behind his back to hide the fact that his fingers were already stiff and jerking uncontrollably.

"This isn’t going to work," Alison suddenly interjected, her eyes manic. "The second you start the car, they are going to charge over here, and I highly doubt we will be able to all escape. We will still need a distraction."

Helena motioned with her knife again, but Sarah swatted her hand back to her side again. “You are not being the distraction, Helena. I won’t let you.”

"I’ll do it," Alison said, straightening up and doing her best to look tough.

"No, no this is ridiculous, nobody is doing it," Felix said, waving his hands in front of him. "Alison, we all know you can kick the shit out of a pack of zombies, but Cosima is right, that is a suicide mission."

"I don’t care," Alison said, her tough facade slightly cracking as her eyes glistened.

Felix walked over to her and leaned in close. “I know you are upset about Be-” Alison shuttered, and Felix quickly changed words mid-sentence, “what happened, but you can’t just go off and walk into a death trap. You still have something to live for Alison. We need you. Your kids need you, yeah. What about your kids?”

"The kids will be fine with Donnie," Alison said, wiping a tear from her eye as it began to fall. "I don’t belong in that family anymore. I belong with…with Beth," the last words coming out in a sob.

"It’s going to be okay," Felix said, wrapping Alison up in a hug. "You are going to make it back to your kids, and you are going to live a long and happy life. Beth would’ve wanted that." Alison nodded into Felix’s shoulder before she pulled away and began pulling herself together. "Alright, so what about a car?"

Cosima nodded and looked at Tony, who nodded in return and began creeping over to an abandoned minivan twenty feet away. The group followed, hunched over and quiet, trying their best not to attract the attention of the zombies.

The van was locked, and for the sake of time, Tony thought it best to just move on to an unlocked car instead of trying to break in. He ran over to a small blue sedan; the door was open, but he jumped back upon opening the door as a body tumbled out of the front seat.

"Shite!" Sarah screamed, and then quickly put both hands on her mouth, attempting to swallow the noise she just let out. They all froze, waiting for the zombie horde to turn and descend upon them, but they continued with their slow pace, moving as a solid sea along the horizon.

When they felt safe to continue, they continued on, deciding to skip over the car with the body and move on to a more sanitary vehicle. The third car was an SUV, clear of any bodies, and doors unlocked. Tony began examining the front seat, leaning down by the pedals. He seemed satisfied, so he took off his backpack and searched for his pocketknife.

"Hey smarty pants," Sarah called over from the passenger side, and Tony looked up. Sarah was dangling the keys in her hand, a smirk on her face. Tony chuckled, and leaned over and grabbed the keys.

"Well that was easy," Cosima said, opening the door to the backseat and motioning for Delphine to get in. She slid into the middle seat, and Cosima jumped in next to her. Before she could close the door, Helena jumped in, climbing over them into the trunk so she could keep her eyes on the zombies.

"I hope this baby has some gas," Tony said, as Sarah settled into the passenger seat, closing the door quietly behind her. "Won’t be much use if we can’t go very far."

Tony then jumped into the driver’s seat and turned the key, not thinking about it. The car roared to life, and the group as a whole cursed as they realized what was about to happen. They were all frozen for a moment, watching the zombies collectively turn in their direction and then charge. Their slow pace had been a misconception; in a matter of seconds they had already halved the distance between them and the car.

"Fuck Fee get in the car!" Sarah screamed, and Felix jumped in next to Delphine as Tony and Cosima closed and locked their doors.

Felix turned to Alison. “Come on we have to go! Get in!” Instead of pulling herself up into the car, Alison bent over and grabbed the baseball bat that Tony had laid on the ground. “Alison what are you doing, we don’t have time for this.”

"Leave! Now!" She snapped, and she shut the door. Felix tried to open the door back up, but Alison pushed all her body weight on it, so he rolled down the window instead.

"Alison this is crazy," he screamed, his voice cracking. "Remember what I said about what Beth would want. This isn’t it. She wanted you to survive. Get in the car!"

"I can’t do it without her," Alison said, tears streaming down her cheeks but her voice steady and determined. "And if saving you guys means I get to be with her again, then that’s what I will do."

Before Felix could protest further, Alison walked away, approaching the sea of zombies that was closing in around them. The group watched as the first zombies began descending upon Alison, her bat flying furiously in every direction, taking out zombie after zombie. After a few minutes, she was completely blocked from view except for the occasional swing of the bat above the crowd.

"Let’s get the hell outta here!" Sarah said, as a few zombies began diverting their attention from Alison back to the car.

Tony nodded and put the car in drive, peeling out as fast as he could. He weaved through the abandoned cars, causing many of the zombies following them to get confused and bash into the stationary obstacles. He continued down the highway until there was no clear path through abandoned vehicles, and he swerved off onto a side road. He continued to turn this way and that until he was certain they weren’t being followed. He then slowed down, taking a moment to survey their surroundings.

"Where the hell are we?" he asked, squinting down side streets, trying to find a street sign or a building he recognized.

"We’re here!" Cosima said, a mixture of excitement and nerves as she pointed in front of them, the brick facade of the research institute standing ominously before them.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group has arrived at the research institute, and they must get to the lab before it's too late.

Tony turned off the engine and the group remained motionless in the car for a few minutes, staring up at the building before them, no one making a sound. The group was on edge, the tension and nerves hanging thick in the air.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Sarah finally asked, breaking the tension of their silence. "Let’s get going, yeah?"

"I’m still not certain about this," Delphine said, and she lowered her voice as she shifted in her seat to face Cosima, "remember what it was like when we left? It’s not safe in there."

"We don’t have much of a choice do we?" Cosima whispered back through gritted teeth, so no one but Delphine could hear, as she gestured towards Tony with her eyes. Delphine assessed Tony, who was surreptitiously scratching at his wound, which was beginning to ooze slightly. His dire situation was not lost by Delphine, and she looked back at Cosima, nodding once in agreement. Cosima replied, “good, let’s go.”

Sarah opened the car door and slid out of her seat and out of the car, looking around to see if she had drawn any attention to them; after a minute, nothing had happened, so Sarah turned and nodded at Cosima, who followed suit and got out of the car.

As the rest of the group carefully exited, Sarah, wooden plank at the ready, walked over to Cosima and whispered, “so what exactly is the plan once we get in there?”

"Well I have to get to my lab," Cosima said, and she pulled out her samples from Tony to show Sarah. "I got these from Tony and I have an idea of what is happening at the cellular level, but I need to check under the microscope first. Then Delphine can get me access to the viral vector that was being used to create this, and I can find a way to deactivate the activity of the virus and create a cure. Hopefully, if that works, we will have something to save Tony and then I can make a stockpile to protect us, maybe even create a sort of vaccine for prevention so we will all be safe."

"That’s great, Cos," Sarah replied, her face stern and her voice anxious, "but I wasn’t asking about the science. I mean the plan for getting past…whatever the hell we are about to find in there."

"I don’t exactly know what to expect," Cosima said, her confidence deflating as she looked at Sarah. "I mean Delphine saw more than I did. When we left all the hallways were empty, but one of them found us in the parking garage. For all I know, everyone who works here could be turned."

Sarah saw the fear wash over Cosima’s face as she pictured all her coworkers and friends turned to zombies, the full and complete realization of their situation hitting her hard and fast, so Sarah put her hand on Cosima’s shoulder in an attempt at comfort. “I’m sure a lot of people got out, Cos, don’t worry.” Cosima gave Sarah a half-smile, indicating her appreciation of what Sarah said despite not believing it. Sarah shifted awkwardly, unsure if she should put her arm around Cosima to comfort her, or maybe even give her a hug; but before she could make up her mind, Felix walked over and interrupted them.

"I’m sure whatever you two are chit-chatting about is completely fascinating, but we are out in the open here begging to get descended upon by another horde of slobbering, oozing zombies."

"We are trying to come up with a plan, Fee," Sarah said angrily, as Felix folded his arms and gave them a disbelieving stare. "What the bloody hell did you think we were doing?"

"Well it looked like it was getting a little Terms of Endearment over here, so I wanted to make sure you remained aware of the situation," he retorted, before his face fell. "After all, my boyfriend is slowing decaying before our eyes, and I just had to watch my friend get swallowed up by a pack of those things to save us, I just want to make sure Alison’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain." Felix’s voice cracked as he choked back the pain in his heart for Alison and his fear for Tony, and he brushed away a single tear.

"I’m sorry, Felix," Cosima said, and he nodded in an attempt to avoid further discussion. She straightened up, her confidence creeping back in as she got her game face on. "Okay, I think our best bet is to take the back staircase up to the third floor, because that is the furthest entryway from the wing this all started in. Delphine," Cosima waved Delphine over, and she was followed by Helena and Tony, "what do you think about approaching the lab from the back entry?"

"Hmmm it is a longer route," she said, scrunching her forehead in concentration, "but it is probably our safest bet. Farthest from the infectious disease labs and not too many corners for them to hide around. Yes I think this is the best option."

"I can’t believe we are about to go into a bloody zombie colony," Sarah said as she pulled herself into a fighting stance, ready to head into the building. "The things I do for you," she added to Felix under her breath, but he either didn’t hear or chose to ignore her as he watched Tony adjust the scarf now tied around his shoulder, the arm almost useless at his side.

"Okay, so the stairs are right through this door, and then we just have to get up to the third floor, turn right, and the lab is halfway down the hall," Cosima said, doing her best to make their task sound easy. "Both Delphine and I have the access cards, so if the group splits, stick with one of us, and if you get separated, wait outside of the door."

"Sounds simple enough," Tony said, and the group accepted his lie as it was their only glimmer of hope.

"I will go first with Sestra," Helena said, stepping to the front of the group, knife at the ready. "I can kill better than any of you, I will keep us safe."

"Okay, yeah, thanks Helena," Cosima said, and Delphine took Cosima’s hand in hers as they all prepared to head inside.

"We can do this, it will work," Delphine whispered into Cosima’s ear as she squeezed her hand tight.

"I know," Cosima said, knowing that they all depended on their success. This was her plan, she brought them all back here, and she had to make sure to get them all out safely. The group couldn’t afford another loss.

Sarah looked back at Cosima and the hard look on her face, and she turned the corners of her lips up into a half smile. “We’ve got this, Cos,” she said, and Cosima’s eyes softened as she nodded, the reassurance enough to brush all the doubt from her mind.

Cosima’s readiness was a good enough sign for Sarah, and she gestured for Helena to start moving. They all crept across the sidewalk in a single file line, heads darting around at every noise, eyes scanning every corner, until they reached the doorway. Sarah pushed the glass door open soundlessly, and they all ran inside as fast as possible, taking one last look at the safety of the abandoned street before climbing into the stairwell.

They stood at the bottom of the steps, listening for any sign of company; but they were met with only silence, and finally Helena began the ascent up to the third floor.

They moved at a slow pace, trying their best to move soundlessly as each brush of their shoes on the concrete echoed up the entirety of the stairwell. It took nearly ten minutes for them to get to the second floor landing, and they paused for a moment, trying to stifle the nerves before finishing the climb. While they rested, Tony put his ear up to the door to listen for any activity on the floor, but he couldn’t hear anything. He shrugged, and turned away, the group breathing slightly easier as they continued on.

They reached the third floor landing without a problem, but as Helena moved to open the door, Sarah put out an arm to prevent her.

"Careful, Meathead," she breathed, "we don’t know if it’s safe." Helena glared at Sarah, but backed away for the door.

Tony stepped forward again, and placed his ear to the door, but once again he was met with nothing. The absence of commotion this far in was beginning to unsettle the group, and they lingered, not knowing how to proceed.

Suddenly, there was a bang as the door to the second floor landing swung open, and Cosima leaned her head over the railing, curiosity trumping fear. She saw a figure on the landing, twisting and turning with jarring motions, it’s high-heeled foot dangling at an awkward angel, signifying that it was already turned. “Move, move, move,” Cosima shouted as the zombie turned and spotted her, beginning it’s labored climb after them.

The group burst through the door, throwing all caution to the wind as they tore down the hallway. The floor was empty except for some discarded books, but they could hear the zombie picking up speed as it reached the last of the stairs, and Delphine fumbled with her key card as she tried to get themselves inside.

"C’mon, c’mon!" Sarah shouted as Delphine finally got a grip on herself and unlocked the door. They all pushed themselves inside, tripping over each other as they clamored to safety.

Cosima, however, hesitated in the doorway, watching the zombie lumbering awkwardly after them, mesmerized by the sight. Cosima knew she should rush in and close the door, ensuring everyone’s safety, but there was something familiar about this zombie; her once expensive blouse and pencil skirt, ripped and stained with blood and pus. Her formerly sharp, angular blonde hair now mussed and stringy with grease and blood. Being face to face with this hauntingly familiar zombie had halted Cosima in her tracks, paralyzing her. As Sarah shouted in Cosima’s ear and Felix pulled her inside, the zombie looked up - one eye was ripped out of it’s blood-soaked socket, dangling freely as the creature howled, reaching out for Cosima.

Cosima, blinking, found herself inside the lab, Helena having shut the door behind her just as the zombie slammed against it, screaming and clawing ferociously. The tempered, frosted glass splashed black with blood and smeared by angry, desperate hands.

"What the fuck was that?" Tony wheezed. His arm protectively draped around Felix in an attempt to disguise his exhaustion.

"Bloody hell, Cos," Sarah spat as she leaned against a wall and slid to the floor.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Cosima said, snapping back to reality, "it’s just…was that…" she turned and looked at Delphine, unsure of how to put her realization into words, "I think that was-"

"Yes," Delphine said, visibly shaken as she sat in a chair to steady herself, "that was the director of the institute. That was Rachel Duncan."


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that the group is safely in the lab, they must go about finding a cure

“Holy shit,” Cosima said, slightly dazed, still staring out the window in shock.

“You could say that again,” Felix said as his voice wavering slightly. “How about we agree, no more close calls?”

“Are you trying to do us all in, Cosima?” Sarah growled from the floor, her teeth still bared in anger.

“Sarah, I'm sorry, I was just...” Cosima petered off, unsure of what had just happened.

“You were shocked,” Delphine whispered. “I was, too. I can't believe...it's incredibly shocking.”

They all stood in silence for a moment, Cosima and Delphine attempting to come to grasps with seeing their zombie boss while the rest of the group overcame their brush with death.

“Well, we came here for a reason, yeah?” Sarah finally said, bringing everyone back to the task at hand. “You two got some master or plan or something?”

“Yeah, yeah totally,” Cosima said, shaking herself free of the image of Rachel Duncan. “I'll get to work on these samples from Tony, but,” she looked around nervously, “I still need access to the virus.”

The color drained from Delphine's face, but the rest of the group looked around, confused.

“What new and exciting challenge are we not picking up on here?” Felix said as he studying the fear in Delphine's eyes.

“The virus was being held in a special laboratory, for safety purposes,” Delphine said gravely, “the one I told you about, in the infectious diseases department.”

“Okay, great, another department,” Felix said, the sarcasm biting. “We get to go on another adventure through zombieland. Wonderful.”

“It gets worse,” Delphine said.

“'Course it does,” Sarah sighed from the floor.

“The laboratory with the virus is where all of this started, so-” Delphine cut off, unable to articulate the danger.

“We need to enter a den of zombies,” Helena hissed from the corner of the room as she clenched her knife tighter in her hand.

At that moment, Tony wobbled, falling over into the lab bench as he grabbed his arm in pain. Felix and Cosima rushed next to him, helping him to the floor.

“Tony!” Felix shouted, his hand on Tony's face in an attempt to keep him conscious and focused. “Tony!”

“Relax there, Fifi,” Tony said, his voice strained and his breath tight, but there was a smile on his face nonetheless. “I'm fine, don't worry about me. Let's just focus on getting this virus.”  
“Okay, clearly Tony isn't going anywhere,” Cosima said to the others as she bunched up a discarded lab coat and propped it under Tony's head as a makeshift pillow.

“And I'm staying with him,” Felix said, his hand still on Tony's cheek.

“You should stay too,” Delphine said to Cosima as she took her hand. “You can study these samples while we go. Make the most efficient use of time.” Cosima looked at Delphine, scanning her face in a slight panic. Delphine leaned in and kissed Cosima on the cheek before whispering in her ear, “It will be fine, mon amour. We will only be a few minutes. Those two will keep me safe.”

Cosima nodded, trying to convince herself there was nothing to worry about, but the image of Rachel Duncan reaching out for her was still fresh in her mind. Her bottom lip began to tremble as she fought off the tears. “Don't die okay,” she mumbled, and Delphine smiled as she brushed away an escaping tear from Cosima's cheek.

“Do not worry,” Helena said as she suddenly appeared next to the two of them, unaware that they were sharing a moment. “I will protect her.”

“We'll be fine, Cos,” Sarah said as she walked over and placed her hand on Cosima's shoulder. Cosima read the mixture of apology and determination on Sarah's face, and knew that this was their best shot at survival.

“Yeah, Okay, yeah,” Cosima muttered, waving them all away as she pulled herself together. “You guys will be totally fine and then we'll be able to finish this.” She looked down at Tony, who gave her a weak thumbs up of encouragement, and then she turned back and half-smiled at the other three.

Helena nodded once, then turned to the door, pulling it open slowly and pausing to check the hallway. She looked back into the room and nodded, signifying the coast was clear, and slipped out of the door, followed closely by Sarah. Delphine paused for a moment, letting her hand linger in Cosima's, before she finally pulled away and disappeared through the crack, the door locking behind her.

“Don't worry, Dreads,” Tony croaked from the floor. “Those sisters seem like a wild pair, I'm sure your girl won't have anything to worry about.”

“Yeah my sisters have a proclivity for violence,” Felix said, rolling his eyes, “especially Helena.” Cosima chuckled, unable to disagree with that sentiment. “And while my sisters protect your girlfriend, you can focus on saving my boyfriend here before his arm decides to walk away on its own and attack us all.”

“Thanks for that,” Tony grunted, and Felix punched him playfully in his good arm. He then shifted his glance back to Cosima, “let's get this party started, girl.”

–

Helena made her way down the hallway swiftly and quietly, like a jungle cat stalking its prey. Sarah remained close on her heels, her eyes scanning in every direction, the wooden plank tight in her hand. Delphine remained a few paces behind, her knees trembling, expecting to see a former-employee-turned-zombie around every corner.

They made it to the stairwell quickly, propping open the door carefully as they slipped inside. Once they were sure they were alone, Sarah turned to Delphine.

“You first,” she said, moving aside to let Delphine take the lead.

Delphine hesitated for a moment before she found her resolve and took a step up the stairs. “It's on the fifth floor, on the opposite end of the hallway from the stairs. Once we get up there it's just a straight shot down, through the doors at the end, and in the virology room.”

“Sounds simple enough,” Sarah said as they began their climb.

“As long as we remain alone, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes once I'm in the room to find the sample.” Delphine's voice wavered, her confidence in remaining alone very low.

“Right,” Sarah said, the heaviness of their shared fear hanging in the air.

The climbed the rest of the stairs, gathering around the door to the fifth floor, taking a moment to prepare for whatever might be behind the doors.

“Stay quiet, move fast, it'll all be over in a few minutes, yeah?” Sarah said, attempting to put herself at ease more than anything. Delphine could only bring herself to nod meekly.

Sarah made to open the door, but Helena's hand shot out, stopping her. Sarah made to protest, but Helena put a finger up to her lips, warning to keep quiet. The three listened for a moment, until they could discern a faint banging sound, growing steadily louder with every second.

“Not alone,” Helena mouthed.

The three remained frozen, unsure of what to do, the banging growing more distinct every second.

“Maybe we should just go back,” Sarah whispered, “come back later, yeah?”

“We might not have the time,” Delphine ran her hand through her hair, trying to plan a course of action. “Tony is deteriorating rapidly. The longer we wait, the less chance of survival. This could be our only shot. If we wait, there's a chance even more of them will come.”

“But if we go back we can, I dunno, make more weapons or something,” Sarah offered.

“Perhaps...” Delphine considered, her determination wavering as she was tempted by the safety of the lab.

But before she could make a decision, the door swung open, Helena having decided there was no point in waiting. She leaped out into the doorway, her knife thrashing before her, as she found herself face to face with the approaching zombie – the same zombie of Rachel Duncan, her loose shoe banging against the floor as she limped forward.

“Helena, NO!” Sarah shouted, but it was too late. Helena ran forward, teeth bared, fire in her eyes, ready to give this zombie what she deserved.


End file.
